Switch-stand lock



Patented Aug. 1e, 1930 Unirse starr-is PETER sWANsoN,-. or ELY, MrNNEs'oTA-f VeWire-rr.'statine mex Appiicti'n 'iaauaary e, 1930.r serian No. 418,76'8.

This invention relates to` railroad switches and has speeial' reference' to that type* of switchy stand in' whi'chI :the hand operating lever must bey first moved' vertieally in4 order t unlock the ls'vvitch` by inoveinentof Vthe vertically reciprocable head thereof, and whichl head is rotated with the switch staff when the switch is being thrown; and refers particularlyI to' a'l novel form of lok for' said io lever,` suo'h' leekv resembling'v materially" the typeil'lustrated ininy copending application Ser.vk 332,646. Y i

The principal' object of my present inverif tion isto provideI alock of this-type'ascornj 1:5 pletely housed' as possible whereby' touauginentits eflilciency and' resistance' to tamper-j 1n0f.=\,-` v lnother 'object isv4 toy provide such a lock adaptable to 'a'l switch handle'hafving` either a long or a shortswitchy stand.flug;

'f ,er further object-istoprovide novelineans fora convenience in assembling the" respec= tive parts ofthe look'. Y 4

4Stills other objects: andadvantages" of the novel' struct-ure will appear in the"v following description" thereof. y

Referring nowy tojthe'f aecompanying drawinf, forming part of this application, and wherein like' reference characters" indicate like parts:

lFigure l is a" sidev elevation" of.1 ay fraginem tal portion of thenppe'r end f aswitchstand and operating lever shew-ing my improved forn'rv of loc'k attached thereto, and partly in section and parayin' @levantan ;1 l

Figure 2 isa' section o'n the lin'e Fig; lf, showingparts in elevation;- n l Figure 3' is an outer' elevation of the lock viewedt longitudinally of the handle and l Figure 4' is an enlarged perspective diagramofthe! anti-tampering spring. v

, l represents the vertically adjustable head of ay common railroad switch stand ofthe type set forth, havingfked thereto the short lock engaginglug, common to such stands. This lug, normally extends througheither the lower bifurcatedportion of the operating-'handle 3 when' the` latterr is iin closedpo ,5e sition shown inJ Figurant or through Aa i101@ 4 previd'd therefor adjacent the bi-fur:

cated portion. l i v The handle 3 is bifurcated at-its upper as at 5/and pivotally mounted as at 6 upon tliestaif 7 of the switch stand and is con'- nected as by the links 8 to the sidest of the head l as at 9 so that when it becomes desiredy to throw the switchy the handle is raised inr order Yto raise the head froni non-rotatable engagement withthe stationary switchist'andnot shown4 so that the' lever, staff and head may be rotated as desired,- thus throwing the switch.

The lock housing 10 is rectangular inifo'rni and designed to stand in upright position adjacent the hole or slot 4 on the handle through which the lug 2 reoiprocates, and the lower end of this housing is'rh'ade' toiit the contourr ofV the handle-v and be either seourely bolted, welded thereto, rfornied integ'ral therewith, asy desired,A thoughv it is one object of nay present invention to" provide such a lock with a supporting' extension therefor adaptable toi dles, and stands.

dieereetypesfofjhaa- 76 The'- lock housing con'iprises also the se'c'- ondary cover like portion 11 which isde'- signed to fit down over the principal portionv 10 priorof course to the installation of the rotatable locking' boltl shaft" 12 which latter isnovel in respect to thefinanne'i of installa#A tion of saine, which'is as follows: The shaft isl ofthe type described in my former applications having a portiony f onesi'de thereof cut away as at 13 whereby to permit of a locking dog illustrated at 82'becoming en# gaged behind Samet() hold-itl in non-rotatable Y posit-ion, which willA vbe subsequently described. The shaft' l2vv is provided with the operatingfinge'r or handleportion l5"where by to operate sainenianually and externally of the lock y` housing, and when in position withinthe look extends horizontally through one outer'4 wall" ofthe housing and also through"theauiz'iliary'partitionltherewthin, and from whichy point' the shaft' isf ta; peredl as at 17 transverse' the space between the auiliary wall: 16 and the inner' or adjae cent wall ofthe housing` l0,` This tapered portion: isf for nstallatef the hebv 18 Vof The registering holes within the inner-wall` of the housing proper and the cover' vmember 11 are of a diameter slightly larger/than theV inner smaller end of the tapered portion 17 and into which is iitte'da sleeve or bushing 221 `to act as a. bearing VYfor the innermost end of the shaft 12; then, externally of the cover member 11, and onto the extreme end of the shaft 12, is litted the locking ring or nut 23 as by the pin 24, or it may be threaded vthereupon if preferred. Y

It is to be understood that the tapered portion 17 may be circular in cross section and the hub 18 of the locking dog splined thereupon or the tapered portion may be square andthe hub similarly shaped to lit thereupon, but in either event the advantages-of the novel features of the assembly are that the shaft. 12 has three distinct rotatable bearingsV and characteristics in that for example, if, after beingr assembled for'some time itbecomes desirable to disassemblesame, the process includes,of course, the removal of the nut 23 whenthe bushing 22 may betaken out leaving a space about the reduced, portion 21 of the shaft through which a swage or hollow driftpinmay be used in impinging the annular shoulder about the inner -end of the reduced portion 21 and the shaft thus readily driven endways out of its'engagement with the hub 18 of the locking bolt and removed from the lock housing.

It will further be noted that the shape and positioning of the housing is such that in the eventof being employed upon a switch stand havingr a long horn or lug as indicated at 25 instead of the short horn 2 it will accommodate same therewithin; the long lug passing freely upwardly in the compartment 26 of the lock housing, it being offset from alignment withthe shaft 12.

The keyhole `for the lock is indicated at 27 having the keypin28 therein, and-the slot for the key wing is preferably formed i angularly as at 29 so that keys for different railroad systems may have characteristics in the shape of the wings, as one convenience. The key pin 28 is fixed in the intermediate wall 30 as is a similarpin 31 just inwardly and above the keyl pin to act as a pivotal supportfor the lockingdog 32. This locking dog 32 is provided with the L-shaped portion 33 which is'partly cutaway on the line 3.4, Vthe lower remaining portion being designed to drop when occasionv permitsl into the cutout notch 13 of the bolt shaft 12 to hold same as previously described, and by the way this gravity dog arrangement is in many respects similar to that shown in various of my copending applications. The opposite arcuate end 35 is designed to cover the lower portion of the keyhole 27 when the locking dog is in its raised position as indicated in dotted lines Figure 1, while, when in its locked position, as for example Vwhen the locking dog 19 is in engagement with the lug 2, is free from'acting as a closure tothe key hole.

A further novel characteristic of this locking dog is that in addition to its being normally a gravity controlled lock, I have installed a spiral spring 36 about the pin 31 adjacent one side of the dog, one end of which is normally free for impinging engagement with the inside of the top of the lock cover 11 Awhen applied to the lock, and the opposite end disposed longitudinally of the main body portion of the dog 32 where it is turned at right angles as at 37. suchturned portion extending over the back of the dog tending to further hold the same in locked position, there, of course, being sufficient of the back side of the dog cut away vto accommodate the installation and free action of the spring. This spring is provided against otherwise possible tampering with the lock and opening same by insertion of a crooked wire or other piece of material through the key hole adjacent the pin and raising the dog from its locked engagement with thezbolt shaft, and the spring is of suliicient tension to overcome any power'possible of exertionY by such an unauthorized element. That is to say, it is intended to make this spring sufficiently strong so that any tampering tool would be bent or otherwise injured before the effect of the spring could be overcome and movement of the dog occur, it being understood that'the wing portion of the hole is guarded by the dog 3 At 38 is illustrated a second gravity locking dogsuspended in pendulumlike form on the pivot 39, directly above the lower free end of the locking dog 19, and in alignment with the opening in the lock into which the lug 2 of the switch stand extends, and in fact is provided as an automatic closure for said openeing aswell as a stop against which the free end of the locking bolt 19 impinges in the manual act of holding the bolt shaft 12 in its unlocked rotative position. That is to say when the shaft 12 is rotated manually as by the crank arm 15 for releasing the bolt 19 from engagement with the switch lug 2 the pendulum dog 38 will by gravity follow the extreme end of the lug 2 as it leaves the lock and thus present itself in front of the free end of the locking bolt 19 so that the latter will be thus yheld in its outermost or released position. 'In this manner the lock n tirely dispensed with, it being understood that the horn 25 is sufliciently long .to always remain in contact with the lockingboltvlQ.

I have illustrated the housing as being of a convenient and neat shape, but it is evident that this may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention which resides principally in as nearly as possible conipletely housing the lock mechanism.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. The combination with a switch lock of the type described including a gravity bolt operable upon a rotatable shaft having manual operating means associated therewith, of a separable telescopic housing for completely inclosing the locking bolt, said housing being held in assembled relation by said shaft. y

2. A switch stand lock of the type described comprising a telescopically separable housing, and a rotatable shaft within saidhousing carrying a manually Vand gravity controlled locking bolt, said shaft holdingthe housing in assembled relation.

3. A switch stand lock of the character described comprising a vseparable housing carried by the lever of the switch stand, a

vmanually rotatable shaft within said housing vcarrying a gravity operated locking bolt for engagement with the lug of the switch stand, and means whereby said lock may accommodate either a short or long switch stand lug.

4. A switch stand lock of the type described having a rotatable shaft therein, a locking bolt carried by said shaft, a locking dog for intermittent engagement with the shaft, said lock having a key hole therein for insertion of a key to operate the dog, and means for holding the bolt in unlocked position when the handle is raised.

5. A switch stand lock comprising a telescopically separable housing, a manually rotatable shaft within said housing, a locking bolt removably mounted on said shaft, a locking dog for normally holding the shaft against rotation, and means for holding the bolt in unlocked posit-ion when the handle is raised.

6. A switch stand lock comprising a telescopically separable housing, a rotatable shaft within said housing having a bolt at one end for locking engagement with a hole ing of two telescopic halves, a rotatable shaft mountable transverse said halves when united, a locking bolt carried upon said shaft within the housing, and means externally of the housing for manually operating the bolt.

8.l A switch stand lock housing characterized by being formed of two telescopic halves, the inner onehaving a hollow supporting bracket for the reception of Va lug to be locked, and the outer half held ink position by a shaft having a locking bolt thereupon.

9. The combination with t-he structure set forth in claim 4, of a spring associated with said locking dog to overcome the stress of a tampering tool insertable` through the key hole.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

PETER SWANSON. 

